In practice, the most varied packages for semiconductor components are developed and used according to the application requirements, it being possible for the number of pins, that is the number of terminal contacts for the connection of the semiconductor components to a PCB (printed circuit board) or other carrier elements, to amount for example to 1020. These pins generally protrude laterally from the package and are angled away one or more times in the downward direction, so that a solder contact with a PCB can then take place. However, the assignment of the pins is not necessarily consistent, but depends on the type of components located in the package and also on the user-specific requirements.
The fact that the completed packages have to be subjected to a functional test, and possibly a burn-in (artificial pre-aging) prior to their delivery creates the problem that on the one hand a special socket (for example a burn-in socket) is required for each type of package and on the other hand a special tester board is necessary, allowing the electrically wired pins to be reliably contacted and connected to a testing device.
The sockets that are available for purchase are specifically designed precisely for the respective package and undertake the primary electrical contacting. This means that, in addition to the DOUT in packages with pin contacts, SMD components, such as FBGA and other components, can also be contacted in special sockets. The sockets are for their part provided with solder contacts, which, however, replicate 1:1 the terminal assignment of the components held.
It is, therefore, necessary to produce for each product and for each package a special tester board in which allowance is made for the differing pin assignment of the components or sockets.
Such a procedure is very complex, however, and consequently cost-intensive, and is, therefore, scarcely economically viable for relatively small series of identical packages.